I have a Dream.....Charger Fans

With San Diego in a championship drought and Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday on the horizon I decided to absolutely butcher an excerpt of his oratory masterpiece, "I have a dream".........because........San Diego.......... I too have a dream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from Jack Murphy Stadium. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for championships left you battered by the storms of sub-zero Cincinnati weather and staggered by the winds of Marty Schottenheimer's playoff coaching brutality. You have been the veterans of creative post-season suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Oceanside, go back to El Cajon, go back to Chula Vista, go back to Poway, go back to Escondido, go back to the slums and ghettos of La Jolla Shores (?), knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my fellow Charger fans, so even though we face the difficulties of this bye week and next week's divisional round against an unnamed opponent, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the San Diego fan's dream.

I have a dream that one day this city will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: San Diego is America's Finest City and deserves a Lombardi Trophy."

I have a dream that on Sunday January 17th, 2010 on the turf of Jack Murphy Field the San Diego Chargers and the New England Patriots will be able to do battle on the gridiron until the Vengeance of January 14th 2007 is served.

I have a dream that on Sunday January 24th, 2010 the state of Indiana, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice after the week 15 shenanigans against the Jets, sweltering with the second guessing of an aged rookie coach, will be transformed into an oasis of Charger fan exuberance and celebration.

I have a dream that my two little children will one day live in a city where they will not be judged by the shade of their powder blue throwback jersey but by the fact that they spent a king's ransom on it in the first place.

I have a dream today, fellow Charger Fans.

I have a dream that one day, up in Sacramento, with its vicious politicians, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "Cahhhlly-for nea" and "Go Chahhh---juhhs"; one day right there in Sacramento, little black jersey wearin' Raider fans will be able to join hands with little red jersey wearin' 49er fans as sisters and brothers in condemning those garbage teams and converting to lightning bolts.

I have a dream today, fellow Charger fans.

I have a dream that one day every stadium urinal shall be available, every beer and Kielbasa price shall be made low, the parking places will be made wider for tailgating, and the beer stand lines will be made short, and the glory of Jack Murphy's vision shall be revealed, and all Charger flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the Stadium with next Sunday. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of "Who let the dogs out?", into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood (aka Pennywise's "Bro Hymn"). With this faith we will be able to tailgate together, to cheer and talk trash together, to struggle not to spill beer together, to get detained by Elite Security and go to jail together, to stand up for San Diego together, knowing that we will be Champions on February 7th, 2010.

This will be the day when all of God's Charger children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "The west coast is back, better respect the name. It's the San Diego Chargers, feel the lightning bang. Kill the hype we reign, S.D. runnin' this game. This is 619 straight born and raised."

And if San Diego is to be a great football town this must become true. So let the Championship bell ring from the prodigious hilltops of Serra Mesa. Let the Championship bell ring from the mighty mountains of Alpine. Let the Championship bell ring from the heightening Palomar Mountains of North County!

Let the Championship bell ring from the Tijuana Estuary of Imperial Beach!

Let the Championship bell ring from the curvaceous slopes of Pacific Beach's Thursday night bar scene!

But not only that; let the Championship bell ring from Cowles Mountain of San Carlos!

Let the Championship bell ring from Mt. Soledad of La Jolla!

Let the Championship bell ring from every hill and molehill of Santee. From every mountainside, let the Championship bell ring.

And when this happens, when we allow the Championship bell to ring, when we let it ring from every one way street in downtown and every quirky side street in Hillcrest, from every San Diego suburb and every city housing a displaced Charger fan across the country, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's Charger children, men wearing Philip Rivers navy #17s and men wearing Dan Fouts royal #14s, old fans of Balboa Stadium lore and young fans from the Qualcomm Stadium days, idiots who bought a Ryan Leaf Jersey and morons who still complain about Drew Brees getting away , will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Charger spiritual, "With Thunder Bolts and Lightning, We'll Light Up the Sky. We'll give it all we've got and more......with a Super Charger Try. San - Di - e - go......Super Chargers!"

For the unabridged/non-butchered text of Dr. King's Speech: Click Here